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I have now managed to reach TOB. Details on Improved Bodhi and Chapter 7 below.
Improved Bodhi.
I don't know what to say about this really, the vampires on the 1st floor were pathetically easy to defeat. Beating a horde of "improved" vampires with Amschat and Korgan without taking a hit is a bit annoying really.
Downstairs was a little better. The vampire mages actually posed a meagre threat, although they were eventually cut down. As for Bodhi, a script error rendered her unable to turn hostile. I had to attack her while she was blue circled. In the first phase, she seems to have some kind of level draining counter-attack, which I liked. After the Heal however, it just stops happening. A bit disappointing really.
Chapter 7.
There were very few noteworthy fights here. The black dragon in Suldanessalar tried to melee Amschat, so much for smarter dragons. In the Hell Trials i took the good rewards for Fear and Wrath, and Neutral for Pride, Selfish and Greed. The final fight was vanilla SOA, and as such is completely irrelevant.
Opinions so far.
This next section will detail what I think about the Mod components I have encountered so far. Any responses are most welcome. If I suggest any changes that would revert a component back to a previous release, then I apologise.
Tactics.
Anti-Paladin kit.
The most ridiculously overpowered kit I have ever played. The Dispel on hit is far too powerful, I would prefer the Unholy Reaver to be the only access to melee Dispel Magic this kit has. I have to admit however, that the Dispel was the only reason I won some fights. (Kuroisan especially)
Improved Ilyich.
The dwarf parties I thought were an excellent replacement for the goblins. Like I said in the first thread, I would prefer it if the Ilyich party patrolled in pairs from their room to the library, like so: -
Ilyich and Rasputin.
Zhivago and the Golem.
Karamazov and the Glabrezu.
I also think more dwarves on the second floor. Maybe one last party guarding the exit.
Improved Spellcasters.
An excellent addition to the game, which unfortunately is rendered completely obsolete by the Anti-Paladin's dispel on hit. Even so, ADHW is much preffered to the weaker spells cast by vanilla mages. I would suggest however that a Maze cast on strongest visible opponent would be a good tactic, although only Level 16 mages or above should cast it. ForceCasting should also be taken away, except for the initial buff script so that enemy casters actually cast their spells.
Smarter SOA Dragons.
Why do the so called smarter SOA dragons try to melee Amschat exclusively until they die? I don't know the answer to this, but it is very irritating. Dragons are supposed to be very intelligent creatures, yet will only use their breath on summoned creatures. This is ridiculous behaviour and I would much rather they use Death Spell instead. (Where appropriate, Gated creatures should still be breathed on) I only rarely saw Wing Buffet too. Edit: This is mainly a criticism of the Black Dragon in Suld. Adalon, Firkraag and the Shadow Dragon were fine if I remember right.
Improved Undead.
A decent upgrade, although it only really has a marked effect before Spellhold. Any undead you summon should also be affected by this upgrade.
Continued next post.
[ 11-07-2006, 06:17 AM: Message edited by: Ilyich ]
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